He left Ann Arbor at the age of 2, but his family maintains ties here - and many of those folks celebrated when he was named a U.S. senator last week. Schatz will serve the state of Hawaii, where he and his family made their home after leaving Washtenaw County. Pegged a ‘rising political star’ by the New York Times, Schatz now has a higher national profile as he tackles bigger issues in the Senate. At the top of his agenda: Climate change.

Fall: U.S. holiday retail sales

Retail sales during the pivotal holiday season grew only 0.7 percent this year, prompting concern among retailers, who - on average - expect to generate 15 percent of their annual sales during the last weeks of the year. The impact could be felt for months, as the sales affect how stores order merchandise for the coming year. But we’ll also point out: The nation looked for years to the consumer to spend its way out of a downturn, and that backfired. If we learned something about cautious shopping, over-consumption or debt over the last four years, that’s not a bad thing.

Comments

PLGreen

Sun, Dec 30, 2012 : 1:54 p.m.

Regarding retail sales not being what was expected. Just maybe the consumer has learned how to live within his/her means. Maybe the Local, State and National Politicians should take a lesson.

Mike

Sun, Dec 30, 2012 : 6:15 p.m.

Maybe the consumer is broke and tired....................Besides Washington needs more of our money so they can spend for us.